I’d like to thank the Academy….

Now that my epic search for a new part-time career has reached its conclusion, I want to publicly thank some dedicated professionals who made that possible.

Lauraine Bush, Disabilities Resource Coordinator, CNYWorks

Lauraine was my first contact. She was the one who pointed out that my work as a caregiver to family was an important resume bullet point. She helped me rework my resume and cover letter to work in the current job market. Lauraine gave me what I most needed at that point — a clear sense of “yes, we can do this.”

Patty Jowett, Counselor, ACCES-VR (The NYS vocational rehab agency)

Once my application to enroll in ACCES-VR was approved, Patty was the one who worked with me to figure out what specific help I needed. She guided my selection of an agency to do the grunt work of helping me find a job. She also gave me some incredibly practical help by issuing a clothing voucher. Yes, the state of New York is pragmatic enough to realize that people like me probably don’t have clothing fit to wear to an interview. She sent me off to Casual Male XL in Fairmount with enough resources to get a fairly serious business casual wardrobe.

Frank Whaley, Employment Counselor, ARISE

Frank was my man in the trenches. He got me off to a quick start by creating an account at Indeed.com and a GMail address to use just for the job search. He searched the first listings and pushed the button to apply me for some of those jobs. That gave me essential focus for the job search, focus I needed as the weeks wore on. He also provided moral support during the last few weeks as my financial situation grew more desperate and all my attempts to apply for jobs went into a black hole.

As I start out on what may become a serious career in public health, I want to repay these three people by giving them the most valuable thing I can think of — confirmation that what they did made someone’s life better.